Jolene Janes

UPDATED Feb 17 / 2026

I am writing an update, and a bit of an explanation to where this all came from.  I requested an investigation, into both my mother’s unfortunate death, and my unfortunate encounter with my “doctor”. I have not heard back yet. When I lost my mother, the world stopped.  For me, for my family.  And it wasn’t even acknowledged. Someone was responsible for her death – and no one validated that, with a phone call or anything.  Everything that has happened since – my failed attempt at making something of myself in this place – has gone by unacknowledged.  The disappointment of her death caused a series of even more disappointments.  We had moved in together, for financial relief.  She was laid off from a job of 11 years, and had finally turned 65 – therefore her life’s contribution to society and our country was finally going to be what kept her afloat for her remaining years – her retirement.  So she can finally rest and help out her daughter and grow old with her Grandkids’ / families’ love.  She turned 65 in January, and she died in October.  So gross that we weren’t even contacted. So many in my family were devastated; it changed everything for a lot of us.

Me and my mother moved here when I was 17 years old – we had big dreams, and even bragged about our big move.  Even spent years trying to convince our family back in Ontario to join us.  I am grateful they stayed where they are. This place is a mess.  I thought we were moving to a place with a future, and we wanted to be a part of it.  This place has given me nothing besides my families’ and my children, my man, a dead mother, and health problems.

I took off a couple months to grieve, but had to get back to work.  I now had a mortgage that I couldn’t afford, and I couldn’t lose my house.  So I got back to work.  Not enough money to make it.  So I got a second job.  Was keeping me afloat, in misery.  THEN, I decided I wanted to go back to school – to work in Mental Health.  Something that I would be good at, and something that would make me feel like this move to Alberta was worth it, even a little bit.  I had almost completed my first year; with excellent grades. Because I would be GOOD at this. As my health started to deteriorate, I was ignored.  And shrugged off.  For a year.  And it got worse, so bad that I left one job in November, and one in January.  I have also pulled out of school. All of my concerns were shrugged off, and my last appointment, where I expressed concern about my blood pressure – the way I was ridiculed by my doctor was not only unacceptable, but set off a fire of anger, for myself and my mother, because WE MATTER. And in response, my body got worse. Not better. I don’t need more Ketamine, or more anxiety meds. I found something at Nutters that helped me more than this doctor ever did. So yes, it was my blood pressure. I have proof and witnesses. I am now mentally in a place that I can look back at the mess, and make a plan to move forward – away from here.

I don’t know what my plan is, but it involves getting as far away from here as possible.  Not only has my mothers’ and mine’s health been seen as disposable, but this place changed drastically in the 20 years I’ve been here.  I don’t belong here.  I don’t belong with people who are talking nonsense about separation.  I am Canadian, and I want to go home to my family in Ontario, while I figure out what to do with the second half of my life.  I’m not wasting it.  I am not wasting it working myself to death, to give my taxes to a Government I find gross.  I’m not wasting it fighting with people over dumb %&*$.  I want compassion, unity, and peace.  I own a house here.  Thanks to my father,  I managed to get land.  Now people are having meetings about what’s going to happen to MY house?  Was I just supposed to let the doctors dope me up, and accept the fact one day, that my home and my children are no longer Canadian? Just be along for the ride?  Nobody gets to make that choice but me.  So I hope, and pray, that my home makes it through this.  It’s the only light in my dark future.  But if it doesn’t, and it comes down to it,  I will choose my family, my country and my morals over my home.  I will consider it another loss at Alberta’s hands. Alberta is gross as it is right now, and I very much don’t recommend it. Alot of hate, divide and forcing beliefs on each other. And if you aren’t on board, you are called “misinformed” and told to stay off CNN. It’s such a gross way to treat people. I don’t even need to do the research to know that these are not my people. And if I am not able to build a life while I’m here, I will spend my time volunteering and getting to know the people who should matter.  And when I’m gone, I will still advocate.  Just from a place I feel safe, included, and that I’m on the right moral and spiritual path.  I am done, trying to make something of myself to contribute to this mess.  I am done with the hate, and the screwed up priorities.  Alberta can separate if that’s what they choose to do.  I choose to separate from Alberta, as soon as I financially and legally can.

To be clear – I stand with the Albertans who are in my position.  Who just want a doctor who cares about them, and an ER that doesn’t dump people from an ambulance to an overfilled waiting room (true story, EVERY DAY).  And I will add this, because it has been weighing on my mind – the nurses, doctor, whoever it was that made the call that resulted in her death – I forgive them, and I sympathize with the position they are in. I really do. These professionals devote so much of their life to education and trying to help, and our government can’t even give them the resources to do so. Who the hell is in charge here, anyway? Anything I said in my original post, which I am leaving there “as is”, came from a place of pain, anger and frustration at the way my life has turned out because of her death.

I was at Red Deer Hospital less than a week ago.  Chairs all the way down the hallway, out of emergency and past the gift shop.  People sitting and laying with blankets.  It’s like the fallout of a war or natural disaster.  It’s SO GROSS. We don’t need blankets and chairs…. WE NEED DOCTORS, BEDS, AND THE RESOURCES TO LET THE POOR DOCTORS AND NURSES DO THEIR JOB WITH THE COMPASSION THAT LANDED THEM THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Anyone from outside Alberta want to come check it out – send me an email and come on out, I will give you a tour so you can see for yourself. We need outside help. I need Canadian help, not Alberta help.

And I stand with our churches  – who are sending the right message – about faith, compassion and unity.  I have never felt more at home, than I do in my church.  So thank you to all Albertan churches who take us in and show us faith and hope, in a place that appears to have completely lost its way.  I am grateful every day. I am not going over what I’ve already written, because that came from the fire in my heart, and I support it 100%. So if I said it, I probably meant it at the time, so I’m gonna leave it there. And I intend to share my family’s story everywhere I can possibly have it seen. Near and far. I have nothing better to do – I’ve had to leave work and school. What is my future anyway? Alberta failed me.

I used to have pretty big dreams. To find a career I am passionate about. To travel and see the world. To foster children who need stability. Maybe adopt a little girl one day, once I have made something of myself. Those dreams do not exist here for me, if at all. I am not crazy, and I have confirmed it was infact my blood pressure. The only medications I am on are Duoloxetine, for depression, and Concerta, for ADHD. I am intelligent, worthy, compassionate, and loud when I need to be. And I have never felt the need to be loud, more than I do right now. I will share my story everywhere and anywhere, over and over, so people know what Alberta has actually become, and what their poor leadership has cost my family and my mother. While I try to figure out what to do and where to go, I sincerely hope none of my family, especially the children, are not brought to the same hospital that has filled me with trauma and anger. If I see a child in pain, brought to an EMERGENCY ROOM, and they are made to sit and endure their pain for hours – ALOT of people will hear me. I will probably have to be removed due to misplaced anger. And it will be a part of my story. Because it is an absolutely disgusting sight, for a province who thinks they have any answers at all. SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP IN.

February 6, 2026

This is just my story and the start of my journey to bring awareness to our severely broken system. I am now unable to work, continue my education, or even exhibit basic executive functioning, due to my physical and mental state.

I apologize if the formatting is off, this is my first time “blogging”. I will edit if it needs to be, as I’m sure it will be.

I am writing this to share my experience with the health care system in Alberta, starting with the experience of my mother’s death, on October 18, 2023. I have never publicly shared this experience from start to finish. My mother was living with me to help me with my busy life as a mom of 2, and to help financially with mortgage and the ever-rising cost of living. Her name was Sandra Janes, and she was amazing.

The morning of October 18th, my mother woke me between 5 and 6am. She said she couldn’t breathe, that something was wrong, and she was scared. I jumped up and took her, in my jeep, to Red Deer emergency. My children were still in bed, and I let my ex know I was leaving. On the way to the ER, she said “I’m scared” at least 3 times. The common opinion I’m sure I will hear – you should have called an ambulance. I was in my jeep in less time that it would have taken me to make the call. Mom was still in her slippers and nightgown, didn’t even have socks on when we got to the hospital. Her feet were freezing. We got to emerg, went into triage. Explained her shortness of breath, chest tightness. They checked her levels and gave her an oxygen tank. In my head, and probably my mom’s, this was being thought of as something respiratory. I honestly thought, that although this was serious, she would be okay. We waited 6 or 7 hours. I don’t know the exact times, but if I went through my messages from that day, between myself and my brother, myself and my dad, phone calls and texts to my manager at work, I could time everything pretty closely. They finally get her in and hook her up to an ECG after all that time – one thing I remember clearly, is the doctor saying “Oh my, you’re having a big ole’ heart attack”

Fact – when you are having a heart attack, time is FATAL. Your heart, is literally being damaged, “attacking itself”, every second that goes by without medical intervention. If any doctor wants to challenge that, give me a call. 6 hours, she sat in the waiting room of the ER, actively having a heart attack.

The staff then got her into the ICU room immediately, and called in their cardiologist. She needed urgent transport to Edmonton, just had to wait (even longer), for ambulance transport. I stayed until the ambulance got there, the paramedics or drivers, or whoever they were, were extremely compassionate. I should have called an ambulance. Me and my aunt followed up to Edmonton, and got to her in her room. The nurses there told me, that she tested positive for COVID. Almost a full day into this experience, now she has COVID. So my aunt and I had to wear head-to-toe gown and masks, to spend what I know now, as the last moments with my mom. If I had known she was going to die, that would not have been how her last moments would have been spent – in fear, and not even able to see our faces, with no idea what’s going on.

While in the room with her, her oxygen levels dropped again. They rushed us out of the room and said they were rushing her to surgery for a stint. Didn’t even say goodbye. Me and my aunt waited, and the doctor came out. Mom’s heart stopped before they got her to surgery, and they tried to resuscitate, but she was gone. I called who I needed to call, my brother, father and family in Toronto, and my aunt called her other sisters to tell them what had happened. My mom was the youngest of 14(?) sisters. There were alot of phone calls to make. And now me and my aunt had to drive back to Red Deer after this traumatic experience. It was late and I had to go home without my mother, and tell my 2 children what happened to their grandmother, who had just cooked them dinner and gave them junk food and showered them with her love the night before. It’s even harder to hear stories like this when you humanize these people, isn’t it? I never heard from Red Deer Hospital with any kind of acknowledgement or apology for their mistake, and my loss. I don’t know if the hospital in Edmonton, asked Red Deer, why it took so long to get her there. I’d like to know why, almost a full day into this experience, I was suddenly told mom had Covid. And I’d like to know if anyone from RDH took accountability for what happened, or if anyone even feels bad about it.

So, with that being said, I will now write about my own health journey, with everything escalating over the last 14 months or so. My symptoms, as it currently stands, are:

  • Heart palpations
  • Tightness in my chest
  • Feeling like I’m not getting enough air when I breathe
  • Severe cognitive decline – my working memory is severely poor, and my executive functioning is diminishing. Example – I was heading to a family dinner last week, and felt so poor that I forgot to pick up my 9 year old from his playdate – I had to go back for him. I also constantly forget where I’m going when driving, needing reminders from my partner.

  • Extreme exhaustion – I don’t do anything. I can’t.
  • Sweating from mild activity – such as cooking, or going downstairs to switch the laundry
  • Night sweats soaking the bedsheets
  • Social Isolation – I can’t even hold an active conversation, and I am not nurturing friendships or attending 12 step meetings.
  • Uncontrollable stress response that continues throughout the day when triggered, causing all of the symptoms to become unmanageable, and for me to become dysfunctional, flushed, exhausted and sweaty. For example, if I come to a yellow light, the stress from deciding whether to stop or not triggers it instantly, and it does not let up. Deep breathing used to help, it doesn’t anymore.
  • Headaches; nausea; stomach pains
  • Sweating – when performing simple tasks, and severe night sweats.

I don’t know who to blame, because I’m not on the inside. I wanted heart testing. I wanted my Cortisol checked. And I was entitled to it. We only get one heart, and my mom’s seemed to be of little concern. I don’t deserve to be ridiculed by doctors who are supposed to help me. I did not even get to tell all of these symptoms to any doctor besides my psychiatrist. When I went in last Monday, I was also going to request a referal to Aspire Clinic, who I visited about 2 weeks ago, and they were also wonderful, and informative. Suggested, based on some of my symptoms, that I get refered to their menopause doctor. I did not get to request that referal, as the shaming started before I could ask.

Before the negligence of my doctor, I was an active mom of 2 with 2 jobs, and a 90 average in her college courses, as well as an active member of my city’s recovery community. Now, I have left both jobs with medical notice, and have had to quit school. I am very angry, and very unwell.I am 37 years old, and have had symptoms of heart problems/blood pressure problems for some time. I am a recovered alcoholic (3 years), and even in my drinking times, I remember waking up with heart palpations, sweating, feeling like my heart was going to explode. Sounds like a typical hangover, maybe it was. I saw many walk-ins, and have tried so many anti-anxiety medications, I couldn’t even keep track. Upon getting sober, I still had anxious symptoms (heart flutters/tightness/light headedness, shortness of breath). I assumed it as anxiety and kept going. My mother died in October 2023, she had a heart attack and Red Deer Hospital neglected to run an ECG for 6 hours, and she died. I should have done something, but I was struck with grief and ill myself. So ill, that I requested an ECG from a walk in doctor shortly after her death. ECG appeared fine, I kept going.

In summer of 2024, I went to a Medical Clinic in Red Deer to meet with a new family doctor. My usual symptoms that I had been living through, were getting worse. I told the doctor I was feeling light headed and fatigued and having a hard time keeping up with my life. He sent me for basic bloodwork, which all came back fine. He then said that he feels it’s a mental health problem, and referred me to a psychiatrist. I met my psychiatrist shortly after, and instantly felt comfort in his care. He helped me get off medications that I had been put on during my addiction, that I did not need to be on. I went from being on 5 anxiety medications, to one ADHD medication and and mild anti depressant. I feel good about that, because I always wondered if it was the mix of meds causing the symptoms. Things were okay, but I was still fatigued all of the time, still feeling chest tightness.While I was working with my psychiatrist, my symptoms got even worse. My fatigue had turned to exhaustion, and my cognitive function had declined so bad that I left my second job (serving in the evenings). This was at the end of October 2025. I went into his (my psych)’s office one day with symptoms of a very intense panic attack, and he saw me right away. I had done some research on IV Ketamine therapy, and me and my psychiatrist agreed that it would be beneficial for me to try, for my treatment-resistant depression, and in hopes it would help relieve the anxiety-symptoms and the exhaustion. I went back to the family doctor, to get him to sign off that I was physically well to go ahead with treatments. He wrote the consent with no concerns. The ketamine treatment was done in 8 sessions, was scary, but effective – my depressive symptoms that had been untreatable lifted, and I feel worthy again.

But the symptoms persisted. Me and my psychiatrist were both happy with the results from my treatments, but I was still unwell. But I kept going.

In the last year I have had ongoing bladder problems – I first went to my doctor before the Ketamine treatments. He ran a standard urine analysis, and treated me for “overactive bladder”. The UA came back fine, except for low specific gravity. During my ketamine treatments, I got a bladder infection so bad that I went to my prescribing pharmacist for antibiotics. Once it cleared, I went back to my doctor because I was still having issues. He ran the same UA he had already run (and got the same results), and sent for ultrasound. Ultrasound came back with nothing on the bladder, just a small cyst on my kidney. He did not offer to refer to any specialist.. just said that I may have to be on “a low dose antibiotic for life”.

Just this past 2 weeks, things have gotten very bad. On Monday January 30, I had a mental breakdown at work and left, because I can not handle the job’s demands anymore. I cannot function any more. I have been at this job for almost 10 years, and when I am well, the job is second nature to me. My memory is so poor I have forgotten to pick my son up at a playdate, and I am no longer able to continue school. I cannot organize my life at all – the bills are piling up, the house is a mess, and my brain feels like it’s completely melted. At this point, I have also started sweating for no reason, such as going up a few stairs to the bathroom, and my sheets are soaked every morning from night sweats. I went to a walk-in, the doctor there was nice and i had seen her before in the past, she listened to just a few minutes of my story, took interest in my mom’s heart attack, and ordered blood pressure monitoring. I have seen this doctor before, I went to that clinic specifically for her, because I liked her. She was compassionate, but didn’t have the time. I feel for her.

This past Monday, the 2nd, I booked an appointment and went back to the family doctor. I brought my aunt with me, because I needed to be able to keep track of what’s happening, so I can figure out what’s wrong. I started explaining my worsening symptoms, and he cut me off without even listening – he didn’t even hear the new symptoms, the sweating, heart flutters. He was annoyed and harsh, and he said “You have illness anxiety, and you need more Ketamine”. I told him I had been doing my own blood pressure readings, he vaguely glanced at them and said “that’s not high”. He said he would send me for what I came in requesting (heart test, lung test), and WHEN that came back negative, he wasn’t doing anything else for me. I asked him to add on Cortisol, because it was suggested to me that the stress I am under could be an adrenal issue. He rolled his eyes, and added it on reluctantly. He then looked at my aunt and said “She has illness anxiety and she needs her psychiatrist” – he didn’t even check my blood pressure at this appointment. He was harsh and dismissive, and pretty much told me he was not helping me any more. I went home and cried to my partner, “What if I am crazy? What if all this time, all these people who have been affected by my shit, it’s all in my head? Im such an idiot.”

I booked in with my psychiatrist and saw him Wednesday. I told him what was said and how I was treated, and he was not impressed. Firstly, he said “Ketamine will not fix anxiety, it’s meant for depression, and your depression has improved greatly”. He agreed that he will not treat me for any kind of anxiety until I have my test results. He also got in touch with a colleague right then and there, to get me in to see her in family medicine. My psychiatrist is, without a doubt, the best doctor I have ever met. The comfort I feel in his care is astonishing. There is a mutual respect and goal, for me to be well so I can continue my life.

My blood pressure monitoring (which was ordered by the walk in doctor after talking to me for only 5 minutes) was yesterday (Feb 5). When I arrived, she did the test run on the machine. The first reading was an alarming 159/102. She redid it just to be sure, the second reading was 138/101. I took the machine home, filled out my symptom diary, and brought it back. She looked at my diary and said she was going to put a rush on it. She was also wonderful, my experience at their clinic was very positive, once I got a chance to access it. So now I await these results, with no family doctor to direct me on what’s next. During this week I also learned that pain in the armpit can be linked to heart problems. I was sent for a mammogram by my doctor, then dismissed as crazy at my next appointment. I also learned that the longer hypertension is untreated, it can do damage to your heart and kidney. There was also a result with my cortisol, that I requested while being ridiculed by my doctor. I dont have a doctor to discuss that with.

I am angry and scared, as is my family. My life as I knew it is over, I have no job, quit school, and will likely end up on AISH. Please help me if you can, or point me in the direction of someone who can. CUPE labor board has been in touch lately also, regarding my mother’s death. I would like to thank them for reminding me that I have a voice, and getting me writing. I am scared that my issue has gone untreated for so long, and still untreated as the results of my blood pressure monitor haven’t been uploaded. I am scared, that the same thing that happened to my mom, can happen to me.

I want to be able to take my kids sledding. And be excited to do so. I want to have the energy to clean my house. I want to finish school.

Alberta has passed new healthcare, private health care. I looked into it, only looked at one and saw it was pointless.. a clinic in Calgary, where if you pay $8000 for the year (plus lab work and medications), you get top notch care. Pretty easy to see, I don’t have $8000, I had to leave both of my jobs. The rich get richer, and the rest of us? We get the overloaded, overworked public healthcare system. We wait our turn, hope for the best, and pray God can fill the voids we are facing. Those who can afford it, get freedom of choice, fast care and surgery. The rest of us, still waiting for all of that to “help” us.

Can you blame the separatists for wanting to leave? Just to clarify – I am not a separatist, nor do I know all the details. All I know is my own story. I am too busy trying to stay afloat, to care about all the politics.

I said nothing for so long, and I’m still scared I said anything,  Because I know how the internet is.  My profile will be picked apart for reasons to insult me or contradict me.  People will be confrontational.  I’m not looking for a fight, I am looking for change.  In my state, I can’t handle fights.  So I am going to try not to take the bait.  I have so many people in my corner, who want to see me well – in my home, in my family and friends, and in God and my church.  I should have left it in God’s hands from the beginning.  What happens from here, will happen.

The health care system needs to be investigated in every corner, it needs to be completely dismantled and rebuilt, by someone from the OUTSIDE.  Someone from the outside, needs to help Alberta.  I don’t consider myself an Albertan any more, and I used to be a proud one.  Once my youngest child is 18, I am out of here.  But I am Canadian, and this isn’t right. Mothers shouldn’t be waiting outside walk-ins in -30 weather with their sick kids, just to be sure they can see a doctor. People in extreme pain or distress deserve a bed and care. Doctors and nurses should have the space and resources to provide the compassionate care, should they want to provide it to us.

If anyone has experienced or is experiencing what my mother, myself and my family have – I encourage you to advocate for yourselves. And if your health isn’t being taken seriously, report it. And if that doesn’t work, get loud. Our health and lives should be taken more seriously.